Entertainment Swindon

Entertainment Swindon is a non-profit online community entertainment and lifestyle magazine giving the people of Swindon news and information about whats on in Swindon & the surrounding area.

We are Swindon’s only dedicated to everything entertainment magazine, leaving the news to other local publications, whilst we just deal with the fun stuff!

Entertainment Swindon is run by Swindon Arts & Media Collective (SAMC) a local community non-profit organisation which is currently working on becoming a Community Interest Company (CIC).

So if you want to know what bands are performing in town, whats on at the cinema, information on youth groups, whats on at the theatre, events & festival news, sports news and much much more then subscribe FREE to our website to keep up to date with whats going on.

Why are we a community non-profit business?

Founded shortly after coming out of COVID, our editor Mike Buss was looking around for information on the web to find things to do, where to find the best live music and there was no one site giving this info.

There was the local paper and other websites offering some of this info, but no one site giving all this information. Having set up a Media company not long before COVID and seeing how this period hit Mike’s company hard, losing over half his clients due to these clients losing their business’s, Mike saw there was a real need to support local small and medium businesses in the area, especially those in entertainment, service sector, and leisure industries who after coming out of COVID Lockdown were hit again by the Living Crisis.

So Entertainment Swindon was born in October 2023 offering a platform for bands to promote to the public and give them a portal to get booked by bars and other music venues etc with our Local Band Directory, guides to finding places to eat, whether you want an Indian or a Sunday Roast, a Chinese or a Kebab, and where to find a good old live comedy show.

For retail, especially the small independents, Entertainment also set about supporting these often unique one of a kind stores and market stall owners who often cant afford the high advertising rates local and regional publications often charge.

Where does our advertising and sponsorship revenue go?

We very quickly set about supporting people of Swindon in four key demographics. Military Veterans, particularly those with PTSD, the youth community of Swindon, small independent local businesses and non-profit organisations.

So we set up a non-profit organisation that would sit above Entertainment Swindon and other media platforms set up by our founder to provide various community projects. We call it the SWINDON ARTS & MEDIA COLLECTIVE, which we hope to become a CIC (Community Interest Company) by the end of 2025.

What we offer veterans:

• Skills Workshops – Introduction to Photography which has also been found in major studies in the US as an effective therapy for veterans with PTSD. Introduction to videography, web-design and much more.
• Work Experience and support in finding work in the Media industry, we work closely with radio stations, news broadcasters, film industry companies, IT businesses such as web-designers to help offer a step from the military into a new career in civvy street.

What we offer the youth community of Swindon:

• Skills Workshops – Introduction to Photography, mobile phone photography, social media content, introduction to videography, web-design and much more.

• Work Experience and support in finding work in the Media industry, we work closely with radio stations, news broadcasters, film industry companies, theatre production, IT businesses such as web-designers to help offering an incite to the world of media and help with career path choices.

What we offer small independent local businesses and non-profit organisations:

Small independent local businesses:

After being hit by COVID and the current living crisis, along with hikes in business national insurance, local businesses have been hit hard financially and had to cut back on, and event get rid of totally the likes of marketing, advertising and other methods of getting their business and brand out to potential customers. They just cant afford these services. So We offer professional advertorial, advertising, marketing, social media content creation, social media marketing & content creation workshops, as well as other support at either a minimal fee to cover our costs, and often FREE.

Non-Profit organisations:

This includes local community projects, CICs, Charities and schools. We offer our support to help promote their great work within the community, helping with PR, marketing, advertorials, advertising and attending their events FREE of charge.

About Mike Buss, Editor & Founder of Entertainment Swindon and the Swindon Arts & Media Collective:

Enlisting as a young soldier straight out of school, initially with B Coy 1 Wessex (TA) based in Swindon and then going on to join the regular army with 2nd Bn The Royal Green Jackets, Mike served in the military for nearly 10years before being medially discharged due to hearing loss.

After struggling to find his way in civvy street, Mike ended up on the streets of London for six months before being supported by The Royal British Legion and entering the 2002 London Marathon to raise funds for the charity by breaking the world record for the fastest marathon carrying 55lbs by 12minutes, going on to break 47 world endurance records, including running on a treadmill for 7days over the next 10years.

During Mikes career as a professional athlete, he started writing for various publications including The Times Newspaper as a fitness columnist which lead to a career as a freelance journalist.

In 2014, Mike went out to Syria to cover the war and refugee crisis, following the refugee journey through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungry and west into Western Europe to Calais France which over 10months by accident of being in the right place at the right time, was picked up by various news outlets across Europe & the UK.

From there Mike set about teaching himself video editing, web-design, and other technical skills within the media industry, social media content creation and marketing leading to Mike setting up MB Media Global which includes various news platforms before setting up Entertainment Swindon and Swindon Arts & Media Collective.